


The Line He Crossed

by HetaCon



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Heartbreak, Hetalia Countries Using Human Names, M/M, Other, Parenthood, Regret
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 19:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19774666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HetaCon/pseuds/HetaCon
Summary: Lovino Vargas didn't imagine his life ever going like this. He lived in the cheapest house he could find, couldn't finish college and start up his own business, and his love life turned on him just when it got off the ground. And it's all thanks to one little girl.Violetta.She didn't mean to cause all of this, in fact, she didn't have any say in the matter. Lovino adopted her into the family and everything fell apart. But he couldn't care more about that at the moment, all he wants now is to make sure that she's happy while trying to keep her out of their financial troubles. It's not her place to worry about it. But how long can he keep up the act for before she starts to figure everything out for herself?Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or any of the characters in it. The only person I own in this story is Violetta.Warning: This story contains certain material not fit for some people. There is slight gore and violence (Only mentioned, not explicitly described) as well as swearing. There are also homosexual relationships so if this makes you uncomfortable, I suggest you not read this story. If this is all fine, please enjoy!





	1. Prologue

Lovino Vargas woke up and turned to his side. As he felt the absence of a familiar heat in the sheets next to him, he quickly realized his partner wasn't in bed next to him and remembered what had happened only a few months ago.

He had been left behind, he always was.

No one stayed with him for long once they saw his true nature. They left him without so much as a second thought. Probably to go live a better life, he told himself bitterly. He sat up and took a deep breath, stretching a little. His tongue licked over a small cut on his lower lip, a reminder of what he had to do with his life now thanks to the loss of his lover. The small cut burned a little, though not from pain, that wound had healed a long time ago. No, it was guilt that scorched into the sensitive skin of his lip.

Lovino sighed and got up, going to his closet and changing, getting ready to go to work. He moved the curtains aside gently and peeked through, hissing a little as the brightness practically blinded him, even if only for a brief moment.

He used to love everything about the mornings. He had had the same routine every day in the past; waking up next to his boyfriend in the mornings, cuddling for a while, and then making breakfast, ready to start another day that would be just like all the others. That had now changed though and Lovino was still unaccustomed to being alone. He wasn't sure of what to do anymore.

He thought back to his boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend, and started to tear up as memories flooded back to him, too overwhelming for him to handle. It was still too soon for him to be thinking about it but he couldn't help himself. His thoughts always seemed to bring him back to it. The tears, the heartbreak, the pain of even uttering out his very name, the man who had left him alone. He should have known that his brother was better than him and would end up stealing away the blonde-haired, blue-eyed German.

Ludwig Beilschmidt chose his brother over Lovino.

He wished he had realized sooner that no one would truly ever love him and be able to stay with him. Though it was not only because of his brother that he was alone again, it was also because of an addition to the family. Lovino now had a daughter and Ludwig had not been very happy to know he adopted a little girl named Violetta.

Speaking of the latter, she slept soundly in her crib as Lovino checked on her while continuing to reminisce on the past. He bent down over the crib and picked her up gently, as to not wake her, and held her in his arms. He placed a gentle, feather-light kiss on her forehead, closing his honey brown eyes as those thoughts left his mind for a little. Just holding her helped, even if only a little. He placed her back down in the crib and caressed her cheek, Violetta gently nuzzling his hand in her sleep in response to his actions. He smiled a soft, sad smile as he continued to watch her sleep, her small hand softly gripping her yellow blanket that was printed with tomatoes while sucking on her thumb gently. She was an angel to him, the light in his life even when he couldn't think of anything else to brighten up his dull, bleak life at this point in time. Everything was so horrible and hard to deal with. He couldn't seem to find an answer to why he had to live his life like this, he felt so disgusted with himself yet he couldn't do anything about it. After setting Violetta down he left and finished getting ready.

As he headed out the front door, he grabbed his gun, tearing up as he put it in holster. He stopped in the doorway for a moment and hung his head, a single tear running down his cheek and onto the wood floor.

"I'm sorry," he whispered shakily as he left the house without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my first story on AO3! I am aware that many people tend not to like original characters interacting with canon characters from shows but I assure you that I try diligently to do research and make interactions and OCs' presences as seamless as I can. If you wish not to read further, there is no harm in that either.
> 
> If anything needs to be potentially tagged due to possible triggers, please let me know. This story is one of my darker works so I am unaware of what could constitute certain triggers. I try not to go into detail throughout the story but if anything does deem a trigger warning, please notify me so I can change it.
> 
> I do not update all too quickly but I will try my best. Please let me know what you think in the comments and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story as I work on it!


	2. Of Good Days and Bad

Violetta snuck into her father's room in the early hours of the morning. She crept up on to the bed and smirked at Lovino sleeping. Staying as quiet as she possibly could, she crawled over to him.

"Papà!!" the little girl squealed and tackled him, hugging him tightly. Romano's eyes slowly opened and he blinked tiredly, not surprised by her little "attack".

"Baby, what are you doing up right now? Didn't I tuck you in earlier?" he asked groggily, unaware that the sun was starting to peek out over the horizon. Violetta snuggled into his chest happily and giggled.

"Papà, you're so silly! It's my first day of kindergarten, don't you remember? I was so super excited that I couldn't sleep, not even a little!" she smiled brightly. Lovino opened his eyes fully as she reminded him and sat up, holding the little girl in his arms.

"Really? I don't think you're old enough to leave me and go to school all by yourself. Maybe we'll try again next year," Lovino teased his daughter, smiling cheekily.

"No, no, no! I'm ready papà, I can go to school! I'm a big ragazza! Please?" Violetta looked up at him with big green eyes, sticking her lip out in a gentle little pout. Lovino looked at her and smiled more, kissing her forehead.

"Alright alright but I don't think you'll be able to go if you're too busy being... tickled!" he smirked and starting to tickle her, blowing a raspberry on her stomach. He let out a soft chuckle as she burst into loud laughter. The Italian let a blissful expression creep onto his face, not bothering to think about his work for the day. He'd worry about that when the time came, but for now, he just wanted to hold his daughter close and listen to her talk.

As much as he would've liked to skip work and cuddle with her all day, Lovino looked over at the clock and noted the time with a frown, holding Violetta as he stood up and starting to walk to her room.

"Get dressed and we'll get going ok?" he said and got a nod in response, Violetta rushing to get ready. Lovino smiled and started making breakfast for the two of them, humming a soft melody to himself.

As he cooked, Violetta came down, wearing a pretty, lacy, white dress, a blue silk ribbon wrapped around the torso of the piece and little black shoes with white bows on them. She smiled and twirled around happily.

"Do you like it papà? I got dressed all by myself!" she looked proud of her accomplishment, a smile on her face as she looked up at him.

"Oh my little baby looks so cute," Lovino chuckled and picked her up, kissing her forehead. "Just like the gorgeous little lily she is," he nuzzled her nose and smiled as he held up a fork with some food on it.

"Taste?" he smiled and she ate it off the fork, smiling back.

"Good!" she kissed his cheek. "My papà is the best cook in the world!"

Lovino blushed and smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, I'm not that good..."

"Nope, no going against my word mister! You are and you are not allowed to argue or else!" Violetta crossed her arms with a stubborn look, pointing her chin up.

"Oh and you're so sure that I'll agree with you now don't you?"

"Mhm, because you love me, don't you?" she snuggled into him.

Having her father wrapped around her finger gave her many perks and he just couldn't say no to his little girl, however much he would try to deny it.

"Alright but only because I love you so darn much," he chuckled and gave her her breakfast, setting her down in one of the chairs in the dining room.

"Grazie papà!" she smiled and ate quickly.

"Prego," he nodded and leaned against the counter, glancing at the clock once again.

Violetta finished eating and gave the plate back to her father, grabbing her backpack and looked as if she was going to burst of excitement.

As they got into the car and Romano buckled her in, Violetta started telling her father of a dream she had.

"Papà, last night I had a dream with you in it! You were underwater and you had a tail! It was really pretty and red like a pomodoro and your hair looked super fluffy like it always does! And you had on this pretty white sash! And you were dancing in the water with this other merman," the little girl giggled.

"Oh really? What did he look like?" Lovino found it in himself to smile slightly, despite his fears that she was about to describe Ludwig.

"Well, he had a green tail to match bright green eyes and he had really messy and fluffy dark brown hair. And you just danced and danced with each other until I woke up," Violetta let out a dreamy sigh at the beauty of the dream she had experienced the previous night.

Lovino smiled softly as he drove, his heart feeling warm at the brightness of her smile.

"That sounds lovely, baby," he told her to which she smiled even brighter than before.

Lovino started to drive as Violetta looked out the window, telling her father everything she felt like saying.

As they pulled up to the school and Lovino parked next to the gate, Violetta started to look nervous and suddenly went quiet. The excitement in the morning was now gone and Lovino frowned at the lack of his little girl's happiness.

"What's wrong? Aren't you excited?" he asked her and got out of the car, helping her out. He walked to the gate and she hugged her father's leg.

"What if the other kids don't like me?" she frowned and looked up at him sadly.

"Awww baby..." he sighed and kneeled down so he was eye-to-eye with her, holding her delicate little hands in his.

"They're going to love you, I know they will. And if they don't? Well, they're losing the chance to be friends with the sweetest and most beautiful little angel I know. You'll make friends, you'll be fine," he smiled softly at her and she nodded. She looked down at her shoes and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Grazie papà," she smiled and kissed his cheek before letting go of him and skipping off to the classroom.

Lovino watched her with a slightly bittersweet smile as a little boy with a stuffed bear in his arms went over to his daughter and they started talking. He watched until the two walked into the classroom and sighed, getting into his car and driving to work, another day awaiting him. His day went by very slowly, his eyes finding the clock on his watch every half an hour or so.

He sighed as he finally got home and loosened his tie, taking his hat off and running a hand through his hair. He quickly changed out of his work clothes and got out of his room just as he heard the sound of running. He bent down as he saw Violetta running to him and she jumped into his arms, hugging as tight as she could.

Lovino chuckled softly.

"How was your first day of school?" he asked and hugged back, holding her in his arms.

"It was great, I made a friend papà!"

"Oh really, what's their name?"

"His name is Matthew Williams and he's Canadian and he let me pet his polar bear! He has a real life polar bear, his bear's name is Kumajiro!" Violetta's eyes lit up.

Lovino chuckled softly at her imagination.

"That's amazing, baby and see? I told you you'd make friends," he smiled softly and she nodded vigorously.

"Yep! He let me sit next to him and I gave him a big hug after school was over! I can't wait to see him again!" she squealed in excitement.

"So how was your day papà? Did you do lots of important and amazing stuff at work?" she asked him curiously.

Lovino looked at her and kissed her forehead.

"Yes I did, I had a great day," he nodded.

"Yay! We both had good days today! Can we have lasagna to celebrate our good days?" she asked him happily and he nodded.

"Would you like to help me make it?"

"Yes please!"

"Alright, let's go make dinner then," Lovino took her to the kitchen, the little girl hugging him gently, beaming brightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the first chapter! I apologize for how short it is. I am not the best when it comes to writing long chapters and this will likely be the length of all the chapters from here on out. Please tell me if I should include any trigger warnings!


	3. His Services

Lovino walked into work after having dropped off Violetta for another day of kindergarten. He stayed longer than usual to watch her play in the yard and ended up late for work but it wasn't that he minded much. He was yelled at earlier by his boss for that and was threatened to be dismissed but he doubted that would actually come to pass. He had the steadiest hand and most precise aim out of all his fellow "co-workers".

Lovino didn't even know if he'd call them that. He hated the idea of having to work among them, the thought of being here at all made him hate himself more each and every day he came into this cursed building.

Every day for 5 years, he walked into his office and his teeth clenched instinctively, trying his best not to cry out of frustration and anger. Every day for 5 years, he would always tell himself that he would quit his job from this miserable place...

And yet, every day for 5 years, he would think of Violetta... And keep himself there for another day...

He couldn't leave, she was so happy with her life. Even if she couldn't get the nice things other kids had. Even if she didn't get all the things she wanted, she still loved it. She always made sure he got a hug every night as well as a kiss on the cheek. She never complained when they had to have cheap fast food for dinner or when he had to shut the heater off in the winter. She smiled and went on with life, one day at a time. She always made sure to behave and make him smile at least once during the day. She drew for him when she could to cheer him up. That was something he wished he still had the chance to do before he had had to find a quick job that he could support his family with.

He couldn't bear the thought of having to tell her he quit that job. Of course he hated it but he couldn't stand the thought of how their lives would be ruined without the income he provided. It didn't pay much but it was at least enough to keep his daughter happy and with a home and he managed to keep her innocent of his life outside of what she could handle. If possible, he wanted to keep this secret from her as long as possible. At least until she could try to understand, he never wanted this to happen for his life.

He had a plan. He wanted to go to college and set up an art career for himself, maybe start a family with Ludwig. He had enough money to finish college thanks to inheritance from his nonno but he never was able to. And in all of the possibilities for which direction his life would take, no matter what was thrown at him, Lovino never thought he'd ever be stuck working here. A place that he truly despised ever since he could remember, ever since he understood just what this place meant.

Never did Lovino Vargas think he'd be a hitman in the Italian Mafia.

As he sat down in his chair, his mind started thinking one of his current assignments. He unholstered his pistol and unloaded it before cleaning it silently, his mind going blank as he stared down at the gun. He was snapped out of it as the door opened.

"Hey Vargas, do anything to piss the boss of more than usual today?" one of his coworkers asked with a smirk.

"What's it to ya if I did?" Lovino snapped back, his eyebrows furrowing as he impatiently tapped his finger against the desk and leaned his chin on his hand.

"He sent me to go get you. Has a new assignment for you, he wants you in his office soon. Very soon by the sound of things, this one's important," his coworker chuckled. "Either that or he's really pissed with somethin' you screwed up, the vein in his forehead popped out as he was talkin'!" a laugh left the man's lips as he walked past the doorway he'd been standing in, leaving Lovino to his own business.

"Fuckin'..." the brunette growled and holstered his gun, sighing as he got up and walked to his boss's office. As he made his way over, he averted his eyes from everyone in the hallway that he passed, roughly pushing through and paying no mind to some of the curses he received. They didn't matter, not a single one. He would never be happy to see any of them at work, not when he knew just what he and the rest of them were doing. Work was the worst thing in his life and yet, he spent a majority of his time there. He had to. Lovino walked with quick, short strides, head down, his fedora blocking his eyes from sight and hands shoved into his pockets.

"I hear you wanted to give me a new assignment," Lovino said when he arrived in his boss's office room.

"Yeah, and you better not screw this one up kid," Lovino's boss slid him the folder and gave him a threatening glare. "You know the drill. Execute it quickly, do it silently, get it done. Don't do anything stupid like last time."

Lovino started to leave but his boss slipped in a quick, "And remember, screw me and this family over one more time and-"

"Yeah yeah, I know. You'll make my disappearance look like an accident," he sighed.

"Good."

Lovino returned to his own office, looking over the contents of the folder before placing that one on top of his small pile of Manila folders, taking out a leather-bound book from one of the drawers of his desk.

He started writing. It was a more effective way to vent out his anger than yelling at someone, that didn't always turn out well for him. Not in this industry at least, yelling at someone could possibly make him a very vulnerable target if he said the wrong things.

A sigh escaped his mouth, his tongue licking over his burning lower lip as he wrote words that he'd written thousands of times before, if only to keep his sanity and sense of morality intact. Every day he'd write the same thing, today not being an exception.

_They told me that the first kill is the hardest. That it'll become easier. It never does or at least... It hasn't yet. Not when you have a daughter at home who doesn't even know of things such as murder and hit men and everything horrible in the world and yet you're doing it all. I feel as if I'm shooting myself with every pull of the trigger but I can't seem to die. Like the pain is still there, longer than it should have been. Having to experience all the excruciating pain when I know I should've been gone a long time ago. It doesn't end. I can't get over even the first time I ever pulled it. The first time I ever was stupid enough to take a life. That man probably had a family to come home to. I took that away from them, I took him away from them. He could've had a daughter to come home to, just like mine. And despite all of the crap, I already and always will know why I did it. I have a daughter. She needs me. Everything I have to do is for her. Every pull of the trigger. Every execution. Every assignment I go through. Every single one is for no other reason than for her._

After he wrote the words etched into his memory, he tore out the page and produced a lighter from the drawer, letting the flames lick at the paper as it burned, dropping it into the trash can before the flames crawled up to his hands and burned at his fingertips. He sighed and put the journal and lighter back, slammed the cabinet shut, and headed out for his assignments, ready to do it for the only thing he had left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate that letter so much, I wrote it so long ago. Please forgive me for the cringiness. I promise that after this chapter, everything else is better written. Just for context, I actually posted this on Wattpad two years ago. I have gotten much better at writing since then. But I still hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please let me know if I need to add any trigger warnings!


	4. Close to Gone

Violetta ran to the door as she heard the key click in the lock.

“Papà!” she squealed and reached her arms up to him. He looked exhausted but smiled and picked her up.

“How was school today baby?” he chuckled, kissing her forehead.

“Good, did you have a good day at work?” she smiled back at him brightly, holding onto his shirt. He chuckled more.

“Yes, it was as amazing as always,” he nuzzled his nose against hers, making her giggle. He held Violetta for a moment more before smiling.

“Alright, down you go,” he put her down, kissing all over her face. She giggled more and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stayed and hugged her back.

“How about you go take a bath while I start cooking dinner?” Violetta smiled and nodded.

“Ok papà!” she said and kissed his cheek, running upstairs.

Lovino hummed a little and got up, grabbing the pile of mail he had taken in that morning. He thumbed through the various letters and his eyebrows furrowed as he came across another notice on late payments. While he usually got a lot of these in the mail, he somehow was able to slip by without much consequence. One of the little bits of luck he did get he supposed. They still had their small little house.

For all it was concerned, Violetta lived a normal life. She should be living a normal life. That’s what Lovino had promised himself, no matter the means to get that for her. Even if it meant being a part of the mafia.

He shook himself out of his thoughts, changed into a t-shirt and jeans, and started on dinner.

After a while, he heard a knock on the door and with a heavy sigh, he walked out of the kitchen and opened the door. A middle-aged man stood in the doorway, patiently waiting. He looked to Lovino as soon as the door opened.

“Ah, Mr. Vargas, good evening.”

“Hello, can I help you?”

“Yes, I’ve come to check on how your payments are doing. We haven’t received any for a couple of months," the man started. "We can only extend your time for so long.”

Lovino frowned, feeling uneasy. “I... am aware I haven’t sent anything but I’m getting paid soon! I just need a couple of days to make the payment, honestly,” he said, trying to keep a calm demeanor. The man on the doorstep sighed lightly and shook his head.

“Mr. Vargas, I regret to say this but you are in a difficult situation. You’ve repeatedly failed to meet payment deadlines and this keeps being a problem for you. This is your last warning I am afraid, your inability to pay is becoming excessive.”

“My last warning before what..?” he asked slowly. He already knew the answer, he knew there was always a possibility of this happening. But he thought he’d be able to catch up on all the bills he had. He wanted to believe he had been pretty diligent about it in terms of the circumstances.

“I’m afraid that if you’re unable to make at least one payment as well as the late fee, we will have no choice but to evict you, I truly apologize.”

“No, you can’t do that, this is everything I have! Please!”

“You have until the end of the week. I’m afraid that’s all I can do for you, Mr. Vargas..”

With that, Lovino wasn’t given the chance to retaliate as the man turned on the doorstep. 

After the door was closed, Lovino leaned his forehead against it. He braced his arms against the door, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

Footsteps echoed on the stairs.

“I’m done!” Violetta said happily as Lovino quickly blinked away the tears, desperately wiping his eyes when she wasn't looking. He turned and smiled back at her, picking her up and kissing her damp hair.

“Can you help Papà with dinner sweetheart?” he asked, hugging her close. Lovino buried his face into her hair, trying not to cry to the best of his abilities.

“Mhm!”

He chuckled gently.

“Such a good girl, grazie..”

He brought her to the kitchen, working in comfortable silence.

Almost comfortable.

He still had a million thoughts racing through his head but he’d never show it. She didn't need to get tangled up in all of this.

After stomaching some of the food, Lovino hesitated but finally said something. “I need to talk to you about something..”

Violetta looked up from her plate of pasta. “Oh, ok Papà.”

Lovino took a breathe, going over to pick her up and sit her in his lap. “A man came by just now and said that I have until the end of the week to pay rent.”

“Why?”

He almost laughed at how cute and naive the question was but quickly bit back a chuckle. “So we can live here. I might not be able to get it to them.. That means we can’t live here anymore, bambi," he said and took another deep breath.

"You’re going to have to pack up your things for me ok?” he asked her before continuing. “Not today but sometime before Saturday morning, can you do that?”

It took a couple seconds for her to understand it before her lower lip quivered and she started tearing up.

“No!” she shouted out, huffing out breaths to stop herself from crying.

“No no no!!”

“Baby, this is already hard enough-”

“I don’t want to! You can’t make me leave!! It's my house!!” She continued to protest and Lovino desperately tried to console her.

"I know this hard but I can't do anything about it, bambi," he tried again, holding her a little more. She shoved against him to let her go.

"You can't make me!"

“Cooperating will make it easier, please help me out, sweetheart.”

“No!!”

“We don’t have a choice!!” he finally snapped, yelling at her.

He gasped and put his hands up to his mouth as she looked at him, silent as tears welled up in her eyes and started streaming down her face. He quickly hugged her, leaving her room to push him away if she wanted to. “Oh my gosh baby, I’m so sorry... I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you, please forgive me,” he said gently, stroking her hair, relieved when she at the very least didn’t push him away.

More silence from her followed and he frowned as he felt tears soaking into his shirt. “Would you like some time alone?”

She shook her head and started to cry harder, finally letting out quiet little sobs as she clung to him.

“Oh sweetheart, it’s going to be ok, Papà’s here,” he whispered, picking her up and pulling her close. "I'm so so sorry.." She held on to him for a while as he rocked her, gently humming an unfamiliar tune.

After a while, her sobs quieted down and he had her look up at him, kissing her forehead before wiping away tears. She sniffled a little and nuzzled into him more.

A little more silence passed before..

“Where are we going?”

Lovino looked down at her and then back up, frowning.

“I don’t really know, I’m thinking we can see if zio Feliciano will let us stay at his house..”

He knew Ludwig would be there, his brother still was dating his ex-boyfriend. But to make sure that his daughter had a roof over her head, he knew he might have to make that sacrifice and suck it up. Broken hearts aside, he'd swallow any pride of his and ask his brother is he had to.

“Will I have to leave Matthew?” she asked even quieter.

“I hope not but I don’t know baby, I really don’t…”

She went silent for a moment before frowning, looking up at him.

“You won’t leave me, right?”

“Of course I won’t leave you, oh my gosh..” he whispered, hugging her tighter. “You don’t ever have to worry about me leaving baby.. Papà’s always gonna be here.”

Violetta nodded softly.

“... Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Pinkie promise?” she asked, holding out her pinkie.

Lovino smiled and held her closer, linking his finger with hers. “Pinkie promise.”

“Can we have cannoli?”

“Tonight?”

“Mhm.”

“Yeah, yeah we can.”

“I love you, Papà.”

“I love you too, I love you so so much..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, let me know about any trigger warnings I should add!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first story on AO3! I am aware that many people tend not to like original characters interacting with canon characters from shows but I assure you that I try diligently to do research and make interactions and OCs' presences as seamless as I can. If you wish not to read further, there is no harm in that either.
> 
> If anything needs to be potentially tagged due to possible triggers, please let me know. This story is one of my darker works so I am unaware of what could constitute certain triggers. I try not to go into detail throughout the story but if anything does deem a trigger warning, please notify me so I can change it.
> 
> I do not update all too quickly but I will try my best. Please let me know what you think in the comments and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story as I work on it!


End file.
